Five conical lenses have been disclosed by this inventor. They can be distinguished from one another by the following code in which letters of the alphabet are used to denote the major characteristics:
M - Magnifying lens PA1 R - Refracting section PA1 L - Reflecting section PA1 T - Transmitting section, non-refracting PA1 C - Concentrating lens
The five conical lenses with their code designations are as follows:
1. Conical Split-Image Microscopic Lens, M:RR-RR-RT:C, U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,148, July 7, 1981. The code letters mean that the lens can be used as a magnifier (M), that it has two component lenses which refract the image twice (RR-RR), that it has one component lens which refracts and transmits the image (RT), and that the lens can be used as a beam concentrator (C).
2. Reflective Beam Concentrator, RT-L:C, U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,612, Apr. 20, 1982. This lens has a conical mirror which takes in an annular solar beam, so it cannot be used as a magnifier or in multiple stages.
3. Conical Beam Concentrator, M:RR-RT:C, U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,713, June 8, 1982. The lower and upper component lenses of this lens and the disclosure are similar.
4. Monochromatic Beam Concentrator, RR-RR-RT:CM, application Ser. No. 358,468, filed 3/15/82.
5. Conical Wide-Field Microscopic Lens, M:RT-RT-RLT-RT:C, application Ser. No. 350,242, filed 2/19/82.
As to prior art by other inventors, there are no conical lenses which receive and emit parallel whole beams, which are the essential characteristics by which multiple magnification and multiple concentration are achieved.